Nevermore: Two Old Women and Middlesex

 

Reported by Rita

Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis

Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.

An uplifting story. I really liked it. - AH 5 stars

 

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

The astonishing tale of a gene that passes down through three generations of a Greek-American family and flowers in the body of a teenage girl. In the spring of 1974, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a girls' school in Grosse Pointe, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry blond classmate with a gift for acting. The passion that furtively develops between them--along with Callie's failure to develop--leads Callie to suspect that she is not like other girls. In fact, she is not really a girl at all. The explanation for this shocking state of affairs takes us out of suburbia- back before the Detroit race riots of 1967, before the rise of the Motor City and Prohibition, to 1922, when the Turks sacked Smyrna and Callie's grandparents fled for their lives. Back to a tiny village in Asia Minor where two lovers, and one rare genetic mutation, set in motion the metamorphosis that will turn Callie into a being both mythical and perfectly a hermaphrodite. Spanning eight decades--and one unusually awkward adolescence- Jeffrey Eugenides's long-awaited second novel is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire.

The writing is really good. It is interesting and full of teenage angst. I recommend it. - MH 5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned:

Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre

Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

Civil War Infantry Tactics: Training, Combat, and Small-Unit Effectiveness by Earl J. Hess

The Truth about the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline

 

 

New Books:

Corn From A Jar by Daniel S. Pierce

The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama

Dinner at the Night Library by Hika Harada

Nevermore: Nomadland, White Chrysanthemum, Country Driving, Fresh Complaint, Gods of Howl Mountain, Queen Victoria's Matchmaking

Reported by Jeanne

This week’s Nevermore opened with Nomadland by Jessica Bruder.  There are a number of Americans, usually older people, who travel the country in search of temporary jobs.  Some are formerly affluent, but shrinking incomes or financial setbacks have made it difficult (if not impossible) to eke out a living.  So they set out in RVs or converted vans to follow the seasonal jobs.  They come from a variety of backgrounds--police, wait staff, teachers—but now they work as campground custodians, warehouse personnel for Amazon, or harvesting produce.  Bruder interviews a number of those folks, exploring the culture they have created.  Our reader found it both eye-opening and fascinating.

White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht is a novel built around two sisters, Hana and Emi, whose lives are forever changed one day in 1943 when Japanese soldiers appear on their Korean island.  Hana sacrifices herself to allow her younger sister to escape and is taken to be a “comfort woman”—that is, a sex slave to the Japanese soldiers.  The book alternates points of view between Emi and Hana.  Our reviewer thought it was an excellent book, but was also frustrated that so much shame was attached to the girls when it wasn’t their fault.  She felt it that they were seen as having no value and she found that very sad.

In 2001, American journalist Peter Hessler acquired a Chinese driver’s license and set out to explore the country by car.  It took him seven years, but resulted in Country Driving, an intriguing book that examines modern Chinese culture during a period of rapid change.  Hessler spent time in several small towns and villages, places that are now disappearing as people move to the cities for work.  He also examines the upheavals created by the growing number of automobiles and increasing industrialization. It’s a wonderful book and comes highly recommended.

Jeffrey Eugenides’ Fresh Complaint is a collection of short fiction enhanced by Eugenides’ strong characterization and fresh approaches to the human condition.  Our reader said that the writing is “different” and that sometimes the stories stop, leaving the reader to supply the ending.  The question is, do you envision the way it should  end or the way you wish it would end? No matter the answer, he felt it was a book everyone could enjoy. However, if you read only one story in the collection, then read the final one.

The Gods of Howl Mountain by Taylor Brown was enjoyed by our next Nevermore member.  The year is 1952, and Rory Cocherty has returned to North Carolina from Korea with injuries to both body and spirit.  He finds employment running moonshine while living with his grandmother, the unforgettable Granny May.  There’s humor as well as drama, and it all ends “as well as it could.”  Our reader was impressed with the strong sense of place, and said the writer knows the area.  This is Brown’s fourth novel, and one reviewer recommended it for readers who enjoy reading Wiley Cash and Ron Rash.

With the new PBS season of “Queen Victoria” airing, our next member decided to read more about the monarch.  She picked up the new book Queen Victoria’s Matchmaking by Deborah Cadbury.  She found it to be a most interesting book, with tidbits of gossip along with fascinating history. Prince Albert had advocated using marriage to strengthen ties and promote peace between the countries of Europe, and his wife took the advice to heart.  Through a series of calculated political marriages, she had descendants in many Royal Houses, and five of her grandchildren were crowned heads of countries.